LOCK MONSTER ~ BEAU’S & TOOTH AND NAIL

5.7% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario 30 IBU

Lock Monster is a collaboration between Beau’s and Tooth and Nail Brewing out of Ottawa. It is the third in a series of collaborations celebrating Canada’s 150th Birthday. A portion of the proceeds of these brews support charity (this one goes to Children’s Hospitals of Eastern Ontario) The brew is a fairly traditional Extra Special Bitter. Sampled on draught the beer pours a slightly opaque coppery colour with an off-white foamy head, with some nice lacing. Citrus, apricot, caramel and biscuity malts round out the nose of this traditional brew. The flavour is nicely balanced with malt sweetness and light hop bitterness. The flavour is on the mellow side with notes of toffee, fruit and light citrus, biscuity malts, contrasting with an old world hop bitterness. Some oakiness is present in the aftertaste. The carbonation was moderate.on this medium bodied brew. Overall very drinkable and a pleasant example of this style.

INGREDIENTS: Local spring water, organic barley malts, organic hops, brewer’s yeast.
MALTS: Pale Ale, Caramel 60, Acidulated, Caraaroma (all organic)
HOPS: Organic Goldings, Organic Fuggles
YEAST: English Ale Yeast

HIGHER DIMENSION ~ NICKEL BROOK 

7.5% from Burlington, Ontario

Higher Dimension comes out of Nickel Brook’s Funk Lab. It is a dry-hopped Belgian Amber ale with brett. It is also a collaboration with VQH farms - who are Canadian Hop farmers, and breeders. Sampled on draught the beer poured a murky orange brown with a generous sudsy white head. Some tropical fruit, florals, toffee, dark bread, spice, funk and a touch of rubber on the nose. Those flavours are found in this muddled mixture too. Caramel malts mix with grapefruit and other tropical fruits, with bretty barnyard and a little spice. There is a lot going here, bitter and sour and sweet. The finish has a bitter bite, the carbonation was average and the brew was medium bodied. An interesting experiment but this one misses the mark for me, however it raises awareness of a great cause.

BEAU’S ~ IRON SHIRT

6.8% from Vankleek Hill, Ontario

Iron Shirt was a Beau’s Fe’brew’ary release. It is a collaboration with Montreal’s Brasserie et Distillerie Oshlag. The collaboration, one among many, is a celebration of Canada’a 150th birthday. The beer is a pale ale brewed with ice wine vidal grapes that has been aged on oak spirals that have been soaked in Oshlag’s hopped vodka. Sampled on draught the beer poured a hazy bright yellow gold with a good white head. The lasted a while before leaving scant lacing on the glass. The nose had bright citrusy notes, along with grape, apple (and orchard fruits), malts, a hint of resin and a touch of oak. The flavour is crisp with notes of grapes, fruit, woodsiness, malt and a balanced citrus and pine hop bitterness. The finish is dry with some lingering bitterness. The body is medium and the carbonation was average to lively. An interesting brew.

LA FORMITABLE ~ BEAU’S B SIDE

La Formidable is a hybrid American-Belgian IPA, made with America style hops but retaining the fruity and spicy elements of a Belgian Ale yeasts. Beau’s B-side welcomes breweries from other places in the world produce fresh beer for the Canadian market. This is a collaboration with Gigantic Brewing Company from Portland, Oregon. The recipe was developed exclusively for a B-side brew by the brewmasters at Gigantic. Sampled from a bottle the beer poured an opaque coppery amber with lots of floating sentiment. It had a finger of white head, that left lacing as it receded. The nose contained notes of grapefruit, orange citrus, peppery yeasts, pine resin, subtle fruit and florals. The taste is balanced between bitterness of American hops and the fruitiness of a Belgian style ale. There is lots of grapefruit upfront, with spice, funk, floral, fruit, pine and an earthiness underneath. Bitterness lingers in the aftertaste. The beer is medium bodied, with a dry finish and soft carbonation. This is an interesting melange of the two styles.

6.9% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario

ISSEKI NICHŌ ~ BRASSERIE DIEU DU CIEL! 

Isseki Nichō is an Imperial Dark Saison made in collaboration with Tanamura Honten Co., a microbrewery from Nagano, Japan. The name of the beer translated roughly means, “two birds One Stone” in Japanese. Some tout this brew as a hybrid between a stout and a dark saison. Sampled on draught, in a tulip glass the beer poured a rich dark brown-black with a finger of tan head. The head receded after several minutes leaving lacing along the glass and finishing in a ring around the glass. The nose like the beer has a fair bit of complexity containing notes of roasted malts, dark fruit, molasses, faint smoke, coffee, dark chocolate, leather, touch of funk and peppery spice. The taste is fairly bitter, matched by strong dark roasted malts, under this cloak other flavours emerge: molasses, spicy Belgian yeast, coffee, cocoa, dark cherries, liquorice, and fruit. The finish is off dry and has a lingering bitterness - a spiciness lingers as the booziness warms.The body was creaming and medium and the fine carbonation was average. This was quite an interesting brew, not for the faint at heart, but definitely worth a try.

9.5% from St. Jerome, Quebec

MORALITÉ ~ DIEU DE CIEL! & THE ALCHEMIST BREWERY

Moralité is an IPA, created in collaboration between Quebec’s Dieu de Ciel! and Vermont’s, The Alchemist Brewery. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a slightly hazy golden amber with a generous frothy off white head, that left lots of lacing. The nose is bursting with hops and tropical fruit (pineapple, papaya, mango). Notes of resinous pine, citrus (lemon, orange and grapefruit), bready grains, caramel, earthiness, and yeast also make appearances. The flavour follows the complexity of the nose. Pine, grapefruit, caramel, fruitiness (citrus & tropical), floral, grass, combined with a slight sweetness swirl and party on my palette. The finish is somewhat dry with a lasting bitterness. The body is medium-full and the texture is creamy and smooth. The carbonation was on the soft side. It is rare that I have a beer from DDC that I don’t enjoy, this was no exception. Quite quaffable for such a high IBU and ABV. I loved the complex flavours and the balance between the bitterness, sweet fruitiness and the malts. Bravo!

6.9% from St. Jerome, Quebec & Waterbury, Vermont, USA 100 IBU
Hops: Simcoe, Citra and Centennial

OVER THE BORDER PORTER ~ BRIMSTONE BREWING X COMMUNITY BEER WORKS

Over the Border Porter is collaboration between Brimstone on the Ontario side and Community Beer Works from the New York side. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a dark cola colour with a small off white head. Brimstone brought their maple syrup and Community Beer Works contributed plumwood-smoked malts from New York Craft Malt. Both brewed simultaneously from their side of the border. The nose had lots of roasted toasty malts, molasses, hints of maple, burnt crust, with a touch of smoke. The flavour followed much as expected, lots of rich roasted malts. A touch of smoke and some maple sweetness complement the hops at the back end. Both the smoke and the maple were done in moderation – well done! The body was on the full side of medium, and the carbonation was moderate. A very delicious autumn offering, just in time for Thanksgiving.

5.5 % from Ridgeway, Ontario and Buffalo, New York

photo: Brimstone Instagram

INTERLOPER ~ INDIE ALE HOUSE

Interloper was a collaboration brew, created for Toronto Beer Week 2016 - so it is a limited edition. It is a barrel aged and blended non-traditional saison/farmhouse ale. The brewery describes it as “a complex, a mixture of cultural influences and tastes, balancing a rich flavour while being approachable for everyone.” – just like Toronto. Sampled on draught the pour was a hazy golden colour with a moderate white head, with great staying power. The nose contained some barnyard funk, grains, pale malts, tropical fruits and touch of wood from barrelling. Flavour also had funk, tropical fruits, grains, citrus and a touch of wine and the barrel. A little bitterness at the end finished the deal. The body was moderate as was the carbonation. Too bad, this one isn’t going to linger, Yum!

6.1% from Toronto, Ontario

SAISON DANS LA MAISON ~ MUSKOKA & LE TROU DE DIABLE

This saison is another in a series of anniversary collaborations and one-off beers marking Muskoka’s 30th birthday. This was a collaboration with Quebec’s Trou du Diable and is a saison brewed with guava. Sampled on draught the beer poured a slightly hazy unfiltered golden straw colour with a thin white head, that reduced to a ring. The aroma contained lots of citrus, with some fruity esters, sweet malts, spice and grassy/floral hops. This was a decent saison, but I got very little of the guava, until a touch in the finish. It was light and fruity, with subtle notes of tropical fruit, tart citrus, floral hops. The beer was light and crisp, with little sweetness. Quite decent!

6.5% from Bracebridge, Ontario & Shawinigan, Quebec

HEFFY ANNIVERSARY ~ MUSKOKA AND HOWE SOUND BREWING

This is collaboration between two breweries, each celebrating their twentieth anniversary this year: Muskoka in Collingwood, Ontario and Howe Sound in Squamish, British Columbia. This collaboration is a limited release. Heffy anniversary is a dry hopped hefeweizen. Sampled on draught the beer poured an opaque rich gold, with a billowy white head. Citrusy and floral hops were dominant in the aroma with more subdued banana, clove, and biscuity malts in the background. The hefe flavours lose some of their nuances, as they are overpowered by the hops. The beer starts with lots of hops, with a touch of grapefruit, and then some of the hefe flavours come through with faint fruity esters and wheaty grains. The beer had a medium mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. The finish was crisp, dry and slightly bitter. I enjoyed this one, but it could have been a little subtler.

5% from Collingwood, Ontario and Squamish, British Columbia 40 IBU

PIE WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS ~ BRIMSTONE BREWING

This saison, with a very long name is a collaboration between Brimstone Brewing Co. and Piskie Pie’s in St. Catherine’s. It is a one of limited edition brew. The saison was brewed using fresh pies in the mash and adding fresh strawberry and rhubarb in the secondary fermentation. Sampled on draught, the beer pours an opaque golden orange, with hints of pink. The nose contained biscuity grains, subtle strawberry and rhubarb. The delicious saison had lovely flavours. The biscuit malts mimicked a piecrust. The fruits were subtle but the sweet strawberry was perfectly complemented by tart rhubarb. The beer has a smooth, dry crisp finish with fruits lingering in the aftertaste. A most delicious brew – so good I had two and hope fully it will be on draught for a little longer.

5% from Ridgeway, Ontario 30 IBU

AGAINST THE CURRANT ~ WELLINGTON 

“Against the Currant” is a Kettle sour with local Ontario black currants. It was made in collaboration with “Escarpment Laboratories,” with whom Wellington shares their facilities with; they provide many local brewers with a local yeast source. Kettle souring uses lactobacillus to lower the pH of the beer in the kettle, which produces lactic acid. When the desired sourness is achieved, the kettle is then boiled to kill remaining lactobacillus. Sampled on draught the beer poured a moderately clear slightly pinkish colour with a thin white head, which receded quickly. The nose contains black currants and some grassiness and grains. The beer was sour without being puckering. The currants give it a little sweetness but don’t impede on the tartness – a few notes of lemon are also apparent. The carbonation was moderate-soft and the body was light. I really enjoyed this, I found it very refreshing, and the tart and sweet were well balanced. This summer has been super hot with heat warnings for weeks on end, this one hits the spot.

5.5 % from Guelph, Ontario

CROSS BORDER CITRUS PORTER ~ MUSKOKA & ELLICOTTVILLE

Muskoka Brewery celebrates it’s 20 year anniversary this year, as part of their special year they have released more Moonlight Kettles than ever before and are working on four collaborations with other North American micro breweries. This porter is a collaboration with Ellicottville Brewing Company in New York State. Sampled on draft this beer poured an opaque dark brown with a thin slightly beige head. Dark malts, molasses, burnt toast and citrus and citra appear on the nose. The flavour is also very roasty – with notes of dark roasted malts, citrus, citra hops, chocolate, and herbs. The body is medium-light and the mouthfeel is slick. This wasn’t as porter-y as I thought it would be – almost reminiscent of a Black IPA. Surprisingly fresh and possibly sessionable for a dark brew. Overall a nice mélange of flavour, worth trying.

4.5% from Collingwood, Ontario 33 IBU

MALUS-HUMULUS ~ CIDER GLB & WEST AVENUE CIDERY

Malus-Humulus is the collaboration effort with Great Lakes Brewery and West Avenue Cider. It is a cider that has been dry hopped with citra and mosaic hops. Sampled on draught, it pours a golden colour with lots of carbonation. The nose has fresh apples with good dose of piny and citrusy hops. The hops cut the sweetness of the cider, adding another layer of flavour, but not distracting from the apples. It begins sweet, followed by a little bitterness and finishes with tart acidity of the cider. This is quite delicious! The name of the collaborative beverage comes from the Latin names for hops (Humulus) and orchard apples (Malus).

6.9% Hamilton & Toronto, Ontario

Picture: West Avenue Instagram

BASILISK PARADISE SAISON ~ BREWFIST & FLYING MONKEYS

This is a collaboration with Flying Monkeys in Barrie, Ontario and Brewfist in Codogno, Italy. This collab has resulted in a saison brewed with ‘grains of paradise’ (Melegueta pepper), orange, basil and rosemary. Sampled on draught. The beer poured a hazy golden amber colour with an off white head, which left some lacing. The nose is mild and has yeasts, fruity esters, malts, and some floral and herbal notes, and grassy hops (Styrian Golding, Cascade and Magnum were used). The taste follows along the same lines as the aroma: some sweet dried fruit, hay, farmhouse funk, pale malts, herbals (especially hints of Basil) and a hoppy finish. The beer has a medium body and is moderately carbonated. I really enjoyed this saison and its complexities of flavour. Well done!

6% from Codogno, Italy and Barrie, Ontario 30 IBU

I, THE MOUNTAIN AND THE LEPRECHAUN FLUTE ~ SAWDUST CITY

This brew is a collaboration with folk rockers “I the Mountain” and Sawdust City Brewery. It is a Red IPA or India Red Ale, released for a limited time to celebrate spring. Unlike many red ales that can be more malt forward, this one hollers hops. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a beautiful slightly murky red colour, with a sizeable fluffy off-white head. The nose has a variety of dank hops – lemon peel, pine, and orange. The beer is quite hop forward but also has evidence of biscuit-bready malts. First sips had lots of citrus, especially orange. The middle remained hoppy but also had a sweet maltiness to it. The finish was dry with more pine resin and grapefruit. The beer was brewed with six different malts and Summit, Mosaic, and Nelson Sauvin hops. The 7% ABU helps to hide the bitterness of the 70 IBU’s this beer contains. I know many of you are, but I’m not one for mouth shredding hops, I do however really like this beer!

7.4% from Gravenhurst, Ontario     70 IBU

LOUIS CIFER ~ DARK HORSE COFFEE APA

Louis Cifer is a brew pub on the Danforth, which has been there now for several years. Stepping in for dinner I was surprised how full the large space was on a very cold night. The place is set up like a large US brewpub: big, loud, service oriented, with mediocre food. They have about a dozen taps of house beer and about the same of guest taps. Several of my choices were sold out, so the waitress brought over several samples, most of which were nothing special, this interesting brew was the best of the bunch. The brewers, in collaboration with Dark Horse Coffee, have created an America pale ale infused with espresso beans. An odd combination, but I think this one worked. The brewers used a single hop APA (citra hops) to highlight the rich espresso flavours. Sampled on draught the beer poured a rich golden orange colour, with a no head. There was a ton of caffeine on the nose along with citrusy notes from the hops. The taste also had massive coffee flavour with a pleasant, but not overpowering citra hop kick at the end. The combination of bold coffee flavour with a light beer was strange but successful. Reading the reviews this one seems to be the best of the bunch.

5.2% from Toronto, Ontario 35 IBU

BELGIAN BLOOD ORANGE PORTER ~ NORTHWINDS  & BRIMSTONE

This brew is collaboration between Northwinds Brewery and Brimstone Brewery, both with fine products of their own. Sampled on draught, the brew poured almost black, and let little light through it. It had a short-lived small off white head. Belgian yeasts, chocolate, orange and grapefruit and pine hops were all on the nose. The flavour was almost liqueur like. It reminded me of a Murphy’s Dark Chocolate orange that I have found in my stocking at Christmas time. The beer started with sweet orange followed by dark chocolate, roasted malts and sweet Belgian yeasts. It finished with a hop combination of bitter grapefruit and resiny pine. Nicely balanced, and very tasty! Bravo!

6% Collingwood, Ontario

THE TOM GREEN BEER ~ BEAU’S

The Tim Green Beer is a collab between comedian Tom Green and Beau’s Brewing. It is a milk stout. Sampled from the bottle the beers poured very dark brown with coppery highlights and a beige head that really stuck around, and left nice lacing. The nose was predominantly coffee and chocolate. The flavour was dominated by coffee and chocolate too, with notes if roasted malts, and hints of caramel. There was a nice touch of sourness from the lactose. The end had a nice bitterness, which balanced out the subtle sweetness of the beer. I found the mouthfeel to be creamy, pleasantly carbonated but a little thin for a stout, it was more like a porter. Overall I really enjoyed this highly sessionable stout. BTW apparently Milk stouts were patented in 1907. The “milk” was supposed to make the beer more appealing due to its nourishing ingredients.

5% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario

FOUS ALLIES ~ BEAU’S & MICROBRASSERIE TROU DU DIABLE

Fous Allies, meaning ‘crazy allies’ was a collaborative effort from Ontario’s Beau’s Brewing and Quebec’s Trou du Diable. Originally made as a collab 2012, it was revisited in 2015, with a higher alcohol content. Fous Allies is a mango infused saison beer, which will be included in the “Best of Beau’s” holiday sampler at the end of this year and part of their “Wild Oats” series. Sampled on draught. The beer poured a dark golden colour with a pillow white head. The nose contains some saison yeasts and a faint tropical fruit, with a hint of peppery spiciness. The taste of mango is very discreet, but it is there adding a sweetness to the brew. There is a pleasant amount of hops at the end to round out and balance this delicious saison.

6.1% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario and Shawinigan, Quebec IBU 30

Malts: Pilsner, Wheat, Acidulated, Carafoam (all organic)
Hops: Organic Nelson-Sauvin
Yeast: Saison
Other: organic mango puree